A new group wants to slash Baltimore’s property taxes in the name of equity. City Hall calls it ‘absurd.’

A new group called Renew Baltimore is pitching a plan to slash the city’s property tax rate in hopes of rebuilding the city’s population, bringing about “greater economic equity” and increasing revenue and stability. Like almost all cities, Baltimore’s largest single source of revenue comes from property taxes. The city has a property tax rate more than double that of neighboring counties, and Renew Baltimore said it has been killing economic growth and driving residents to leave for decades.